Electronic throttle control pedal assembly

ABSTRACT

An electronic throttle control pedal assembly includes a housing having a friction generating surface, a pedal arm, a spring carrier, and at least one spring. The pedal arm includes a hub portion and a friction generating member. The friction generating member has a lobe connected to a cross member and is positioned on a side surface of the hub portion. The cross member extends within the hub portion. The spring carrier has a friction generating portion. As the pedal arm is depressed, a portion of the spring carrier engages the friction generating portion against the cross member positioned within the hub aperture and pivotally engages a portion of the lobe of the friction generating member against the friction generating surface of the housing thereby creating at least two independent friction generating surfaces to create a hysteresis proportional to the depression of the pedal arm.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This utility patent application is a continuation of co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/824,154, filed May 25, 2022, which inturn claims priority benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 63/192,808, filed May 25, 2021, and entitled “ElectronicThrottle Control Pedal Assembly”, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present specification generally relates to pedal assemblies forvehicles and, more specifically, to pedal assemblies with a mechanicalresistance with hysteresis and a position sensor output measuring pedalmovement.

BACKGROUND

Electronic throttle controlled (ETC) pedal assemblies are well known. InETC pedal assemblies, an accelerator pedal is coupled or incommunication with a throttle, replacing mechanical linkage. Generally,ETC pedal assemblies include an accelerator pedal module, a throttlevalve that can be opened and closed by an electric motor, and apowertrain or engine control module that employs software to determinethe required throttle position by calculations from data measured byother sensors. However, these known ETC pedal assemblies are notconstructed to provide position sensor output to the powertraincontroller and mechanical resistance with hysteresis to the driver'sfoot, both in relation to the position of the pedal.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, an electronic throttle control pedal assembly for avehicle is provided. The assembly includes a housing, a pedal arm, aspring carrier, and at least one spring. The housing has a frictiongenerating surface. The pedal arm has a hub portion and a frictiongenerating member. The friction generating member has a lobe. The lobeis positioned on a side surface of the hub portion. The pedal arm ispivotally connected to the housing at the hub portion. The springcarrier is coupled to the pedal arm and is received within the housing.

The at least one spring is positioned to be in contact with the pedalarm and the spring carrier. When the pedal arm is depressed, the atleast one spring and the spring carrier leverages a load applied by theat least one spring to pivotally engage at least a portion of the lobeof the friction generating member against the friction generatingsurface of the housing thereby creating a hysteresis proportional to thedepression of the pedal arm.

In another embodiment, a pedal assembly for a vehicle is provided. Theassembly includes a housing and a pedal arm assembly. The housing has afriction generating surface. The pedal arm assembly has a pedal armhaving an exterior surface and an opposite inner surface. The pedal armfurther includes a hub portion and a friction generating member, aspring carrier, and at least one spring. The hub portion is curvilinearin shape. The friction generating member has a pair of spaced apartlobes connected by a cross member. Each of the pair of lobes ispositioned on a respective side surface of the hub portion and the crossmember extending within the hub portion. Each of the pair of lobes ofthe friction surface geometrically matches the curvilinear shape of thehub portion. The pedal arm is pivotally connected to the housing at thehub portion. The spring carrier is coupled to the pedal arm and isreceived within the housing. The spring carrier has a frictiongenerating portion extending from a rear surface. The at least onespring extends between the inner surface of the pedal arm and the springcarrier. When the pedal arm is depressed, the at least one spring andthe spring carrier leverages a load applied to the at least one springby movement of the pedal arm to engage the friction generating portionagainst the cross member of the friction generating member positionedwithin the hub aperture and a portion of the lobe of the frictiongenerating member is pivotally engaged against the friction generatingsurface of the housing thereby creating at least two independentfriction generating surfaces to create a hysteresis proportional to thedepression of the pedal arm.

A method of a final assembly of installing a pedal arm assembly into ahousing is provided. The method includes the steps of: inserting aninner spring with an outer diameter into an inner diameter of an outerspring to form a spring package, the outer diameter of the inner springis smaller than the inner diameter of the outer spring, inserting oneend of the spring package into a spring receiving portion of a pedalarm, inserting another end of the spring package into a spring receivingportion of a spring carrier, and inserting the spring carrier and thepedal arm into a hub receiving cavity of the housing such that the pedalarm and the spring carrier are pivotally mounted to the housing.

These and additional features provided by the embodiments describedherein will be more fully understood in view of the following detaileddescription, in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplaryin nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by theclaims. The following detailed description of the illustrativeembodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, where like structure is indicated with likereference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a left side perspective view of anelectronic throttle pedal assembly according to one or more embodimentsshown and described herein;

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a right side perspective view of theelectronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 1 according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 3 schematically depicts an exploded perspective view of theelectronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 1 according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 4 schematically depicts a partial cross-sectional view of theelectronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 1 taken from line 4-4 with apedal arm in a undepressed state according to one or more embodimentsshown and described herein;

FIG. 5 schematically depicts a partial cross-sectional view of theelectronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 1 taken from line 4-4 with apedal arm in a depressed state according to one or more embodimentsshown and described herein;

FIG. 6 schematically depicts a partial isolated view of a housing and apedal arm of the electronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 1 accordingto one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 7 schematically depicts an isolated view of the housing of theelectronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 6 according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 8 schematically depicts an isolated left side perspective view ofthe pedal arm assembly of the electronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG.1 according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 9 schematically depicts an isolated right side perspective view ofthe pedal arm assembly of the electronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG.1 according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 10 schematically depicts an isolated rear view of the pedal arm ofthe electronic throttle pedal assembly of FIG. 1 according to one ormore embodiments shown and described herein; and

FIG. 11 schematically depicts an illustrative flowchart for a method ofinstalling a pedal arm assembly into a housing according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein are directed to an electronic throttlecontrol (ETC) pedal assembly having a simplified final assembly processcompared to conventional ETC assemblies. Further, embodiments of the ETCpedal assembly described herein include an inductive coupler and sensorassembly to detect movement of the coupler. Further still, embodimentsof the ETC pedal assembly described herein include at least twoindependent friction generating surfaces to create a hysteresisproportional to the depression of a pedal arm.

The ETC pedal assembly includes a housing, a pedal arm and a lower pedalarm. The housing includes a receiving cavity and a friction generatingsurface. The pedal arm includes a hub portion and a friction generatingmember. The friction generating member has a pair of spaced apart lobesconnected by a cross member. The cross member may be an elongated memberintegrally formed with the pair of lobes. Each of the pair of lobes arepositioned on a respectively side surface of the hub portion and thecross member extends across and within the hub portion such that aportion of the cross member is exposed within a hub aperture. The pedalarm is pivotally connected to the housing at the hub portion. As such,when the pedal arm is pivoted, the pedal arm moves the frictiongenerating member of the pedal arm to slidably engage against thefriction generating surface of the housing.

A spring carrier is coupled to the pedal arm and is received within thehousing. The spring carrier includes a spring receiving portion and anarm portion that extends from the spring receiving portion. A frictiongenerating portion extends from the arm portion and is arcuate in shape.An outer spring with an inner diameter extends between an inner surfaceof the pedal arm and the spring receiving portion of the spring carrier.An inner spring is positioned within the inner diameter of the outerspring and extends between the inner surface of the pedal arm and thespring receiving portion of the spring carrier.

As the pedal arm is depressed, the pedal arm moves and the at least onespring displaces the spring carrier such that a portion of the springcarrier leverages against the housing to load the pedal arm pivot as itrotates. As the at least one spring compresses due to the rotation ofthe pedal arm, the spring carrier continues to transfer the load intothe pivot of the pedal arm. As such, with the load applied, the frictiongenerating portion is positioned against the exposed portion of thecross member of the friction generating member. As such, embodimentsdescribed herein disclose of at least two independent frictiongenerating surfaces to create a hysteresis proportional to thedepression of the pedal arm.

Various embodiments of the ETC assembly and methods for assembly thereofare described in detail herein.

As used herein, the term “communicatively coupled” means that coupledcomponents are capable of exchanging data signals with one another suchas, for example, electrical signals via conductive medium or anon-conductive medium, though networks such as via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, andthe like, electromagnetic signals via air, optical signals via opticalwaveguides, and the like.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-10 , an electronic throttle control (ETC)pedal assembly 10 is schematically depicted. The ETC pedal assembly 10includes a housing 12 and a pedal arm assembly 14. The pedal armassembly 14 includes a pedal arm 15, which includes a hub portion 16.The hub portion 16 is pivotally mounted to the housing 12. The pedal arm15 includes an upper portion 18 a and an opposite lower arm portion 18b. The lower arm portion 18 b may be sized and shaped to be received byany number of lower pedal arms, such as the lower pedal arm 20. A pedalpad 22 is positioned at a distal end 24 of the lower pedal arm 20. Assuch, the pedal arm 15 pivots, moves, and/or rotates within the housing12 based on a pressure applied to the pedal pad 22 at the distal end 24of the lower pedal arm 20.

The housing 12 includes a back wall 25 a and an opposite front wall 25 band a pair of sidewalls 25 c. Further, the housing 12 may include a hubreceiving cavity 26 that may further include a friction generatingsurface 28. In some embodiments, the hub receiving cavity 26 may besemi-circular in shape. In other embodiments, the hub receiving cavity26 may be rectangular, square, hexagonal, and/or the like. A pocketportion 27 is positioned within the hub receiving cavity 26 and isconfigured to receive a portion of the pedal arm 15, as discussed ingreater detail herein. The housing 12 may include an aperture 29extending through the back wall 25 a to provide clearance for a springcarrier 78, as discussed in greater detail herein.

In some embodiments, the friction generating surface 28 is positionedwithin a portion of the hub receiving cavity 26 of the housing 12. Insome embodiments, the friction generating surface 28 includes two legs30, each arcuate in shape. A connecting member 32 may couple to each ofthe legs 30. In some embodiments, each of the two legs 30 aresymmetrical or uniform in shape with respect to one another. In otherembodiments, each of the two legs 30 are non-uniform or do not match inshape with respect to one another. In some embodiments, each of the twolegs 30 include a surface 31 that are radiused or arcuate in shape. Inother embodiments, each of surfaces 31 of the two legs 30 are shapeddifferently such as linear, curvilinear, and/or the like. In someembodiments, the connecting member 32 may have a surface 33 that has aradius or is arcuate in shape. In other embodiments, the surface 33 ofthe connecting member 32 may be linear, curvilinear, and/or the like.

The housing 12 further includes a connector opening 39. The connectoropening includes a mounting portion 41 for a connector 37 of a connectorassembly, as discussed in greater detail herein. The connector opening39 provides access to the hub receiving cavity 26 such that componentsof the ETC pedal assembly 10, such as a sensor assembly 94, may bepositioned within the hub receiving cavity 26 and exit the housing 12via the connector opening 39, as discussed in greater detail herein.

The housing 12 may be mounted to a dash of a vehicle such as to aninstrument panel, a firewall and/or the like. As such, the back wall 25a is coupled, mounted or otherwise attached to a component of thevehicle to hold the pedal pad 22 and a distal end of the lower pedal arm20 off a vehicle floor in a vertical direction (i.e., in the +/− Zdirection).

In some embodiments, the housing 12 may be formed with various materialssuch as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene (PE),polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide thermoplastic(PA)—known as nylon—and variations of nylon including PA6 and PA66,Polyphthalamide (PPA), polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene,polyurethane, polymethyl methacrylate, high density polyethylene, lowdensity polyethylene, polystyrene, PEEK, POM (Acetal/Delrin),polyethylene terephthalate, thermoplastic elastomer, polyetherimide,theremoplastic vulcanizate, polysulfone, and/or the like, andcombinations thereof. Additionally, additives may be added such as UVabsorbers, flame retardants, colorants, glass fibers, plasticizers,carbon fiber, aramid fiber, glass bead, PTFE, PFPE, TALC, MoS2(Molybdenum Disulfide), graphite, and/or the like.

The friction generating surface 28 may be formed with the same materialas the housing 12 or may be formed with a different material orcombinations of different materials than the housing 12. For example, insome embodiments, both the housing 12 and the friction generatingsurface 28 may be formed with the acrylonitrile butadiene styrenematerial. In other embodiments, the housing 12 may be formed withacrylonitrile butadiene styrene material and the friction generatingsurface 28 may be formed with the polyethylene material. In anotherembodiment, the housing 12 may be formed with acrylonitrile butadienestyrene material and nylon while the friction generating surface 28 maybe formed with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material and athermoplastic elastomer.

Further, in some embodiments, the housing 12 and/or the frictiongenerating surface 28 may be formed from additive manufacturingtechniques. Additive manufacturing techniques refer generally tomanufacturing processes wherein successive layers of material(s) areprovided on each other to “build-up,” layer-by-layer, athree-dimensional component. The successive layers generally fusetogether to form a monolithic component which may have a variety ofintegral sub-components. Although additive manufacturing technology isdescribed herein as enabling fabrication of complex objects by buildingobjects point-by-point, layer-by-layer, typically in a verticaldirection, other methods of fabrication are possible and within thescope of the present subject matter. For example, although thediscussion herein refers to the addition of material to form successivelayers, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods andstructures disclosed herein may be practiced with any additivemanufacturing technique or manufacturing technology. For example,embodiments of the present invention may use layer-additive processes,layer-subtractive processes, or hybrid processes. In other embodiments,the housing 12 and/or the friction generating surface 28 may be formedvia injection molding techniques or other known techniques

Still referring to FIGS. 1-10 , the hub portion 16 of the pedal arm 15is received in the hub receiving cavity 26 of the housing 12 to pivot,rotate, or move relative to the hub receiving cavity 26 of the housing12. In some embodiments, the pedal arm 15 includes an exterior surface60 a and an opposite inner surface 60 b and a pair of sides 60 c. Thehub portion 16 extends to each of the pair of sides 60 c of the pedalarm 15 with a hub aperture 36 extending therebetween. The hub portion 16may include a pair of side surfaces 40 a, 40 b, a protrusion 42extending from an uppermost surface 44 of the side surfaces 40 a, 40 band a hub aperture 36 extending between the pair of side surfaces 40 a,40 b and open from the exterior surface 60 a through the inner surface60 c. In some embodiments, the pair of side surfaces 40 a, 40 b arecurvilinear in shape. In some embodiments, the uppermost surface 44 isgenerally arcuate in shape with a smooth transition contour.

Each of the pair of side surfaces 40 a, 40 b of the hub portion 16 mayfurther include a cutout 46 or stepped portion that follows an outercircumference of the side surfaces 40 a, 40 b. A receiving aperture 48extends between the pair of side surfaces 40 a, 40 b and is generallyperpendicular to the hub aperture 36. A friction generating member 38may be coupled to the cutout 46 or stepped portion. The frictiongenerating member 38 may include a pair of lobes 50 a, 50 b and a crossmember 52 may extend between coupling to each of the pair of lobes 50 a,50 b. The cross member 52 may be an elongated member integrally formedwith the pair of lobes 50 a, 50 b such that the friction generatingmember 38 is a monolithic structure. The cross member 52 include a lowersurface 54 a and an opposite upper surface 54 b. Each of the pair oflobes 50 a, 50 b are hollow or open and thus include an outer surface 56a and an inner surface 56 b that define a thickness of the lobe. Each ofthe pair of lobes 50 a, 50 b fit within the respective cutout 46 of eachof the respective side surfaces 40 a, 40 b such that the inner surface56 b abuts within the respective cutout 46 or stepped portion and eachof the lobes 50 a, 50 b follows an outer circumference of the sidesurfaces 40 a, 40 b and such that the pair of side surfaces 40 a, 40 bof the hub portion 16 extend through the hollow or open portion of thepair of lobes 50 a, 50 b. Further, portions of the outer surface 56 a ofthe respective pair of lobes 50 a, 50 b are exposed and may make contactwith or abut the friction generating surface 28 of the housing 12 toslidably engage with one another, as discussed in greater detail herein.Further, the cross member 52 may be received within the receivingaperture 48. The receiving aperture 48 is open to the hub aperture 36such that the lower surface 54 a of the cross member 52 is exposed inthe hub aperture 36 in a direction perpendicular to the opening of thehub aperture 36. The friction generating member 38 may be formed viainjection molding such as a one-shot, or via additive manufacturingtechniques.

As such, the friction generating member 38 may be positioned on each ofthe side surfaces 40 a, 40 b and may have a corresponding geometry tothat of the curvilinear shape of the side surfaces 40 a, 40 b of the hubportion 16. An uppermost surface 58 a, 58 b and the uppermost surface 44of the hub portion 16 may all extend to the same height in the verticaldirection (i.e., in the +/− Z direction) so to have a smooth contourbetween each of them and to allow for even movement or rotation againstthe friction generating surface 28 of the housing 12. That is, theuppermost surface 58 a, 58 b and the uppermost surface 44 of the hubportion 16 each abut or engage with the friction generating surface 28of the housing 12. As such, the uppermost surface 44 of the hub portion16 and the uppermost surface 58 a, 58 b of the friction generatingmember 38 may be at a corresponding radius to the friction generatingsurface 28 of the housing 12 to ensure smooth movement of the uppermostsurface 44 of the hub portion 16 and the uppermost surface 58 a, 58 b ofthe friction generating member 38 with respect to the frictiongenerating surface 28 of the housing 12. That is, as the pedal arm 15 ispivoted, moved, or rotated, the uppermost surface 58 a, 58 b of thefriction generating member 38 and the uppermost surface 44 of the hubportion 16 slidably engage with the portions of the friction generatingsurface 28 of the housing 12 to form one of at least two independentfriction generating surfaces, as best illustrated in FIG. 5 and asdiscussed in greater detail herein.

As best illustrated in FIG. 9 , the pedal arm 15 includes an idle stop59 to prevent over movement or over rotation of the spring carrier 78 asdiscussed in greater detail herein. The idle stop 59 may be made of asoft material than the pedal arm 15 and/or the housing to reduce noise.For example, the idle stop 59 may be made from various materials such asacrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene(PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide thermoplastic (PA)—known asnylon—and variations of nylon including PA6 and PA66, Polyphthalamide(PPA), polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyurethane,polymethyl methacrylate, high density polyethylene, low densitypolyethylene, polystyrene, PEEK, POM (Acetal/Delrin), polyethyleneterephthalate, thermoplastic elastomer, polyetherimide, theremoplasticvulcanizate, polysulfone, and/or the like, and combinations thereof.Additionally, additives may be added such as UV absorbers, flameretardants, colorants, glass fibers, plasticizers, carbon fiber, aramidfiber, glass bead, PTFE, PFPE, TALC, MoS2 (Molybdenum Disulfide),graphite, and/or the like.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-10 , the lower arm portion 18 b of the pedalarm 15 may include a pedal receiving portion 62 which may be sized witha smaller outer shape than that of the such that the having a be sizedand shaped to be received by any number of lower pedal arms, such as thelower pedal arm 20. That is, the pedal receiving portion 62 may have asmaller area than a receiving cavity 64 of the lower pedal arm 20 suchthat the pedal receiving portion 62 is received within the receivingcavity 64 of the lower pedal arm 20. Further, the pedal arm 15 mayinclude a pair of angled protrusions 65 that each include at least onefastening aperture 66 a that each receive a corresponding at least oneprotrusion 68 a of the lower pedal arm 20 that is shaped and sized to bereceived in the at least one fastening aperture 66 a. A second at leastone fastening aperture 66 b is positioned on pedal arm 15 and is sizedand shaped to receive a second at least one protrusion 68 b of the lowerpedal arm 20.

As such, this arrangement ensures that the lower pedal arm 20 is fullyseated onto the pedal receiving portion 62. Further, this arrangementpermits for a plurality of differently shaped and types of lower pedalarms to be added or swapped onto the pedal receiving portion 62. Thatis, with this arrangement, the pedal receiving portion 62 of the pedalarm 15 may be a universal connector that is adapted to receive theplurality of differently shaped and types of lower pedal arms such thatflexibility exists to change or modify a lower pedal arm 20 withoutchanging the housing 12 and/or the pedal arm assembly 14.

The inner surface 60 b of the pedal arm includes a spring receivingportion 70. The spring receiving portion 70 is positioned between theupper portion 18 a and the lower arm portion 18 b of the pedal arm 15.The spring receiving portion 70 may be an indention or damper mountingarea operable to hold a pair of springs or a damper, as discussed ingreater detail herein. The spring receiving portion 70 may generally becircular and include a spring surface 72 adapted to receive an outerspring 74 and an inner spring 76, as discussed in greater detail herein.The spring surface 72 includes a generally circular holding portion anda central protrusion 77 to keep the outer spring 74 and the inner spring76 in place.

In some embodiments, the pedal arm 15 may be formed with a multi-shotinjection molding process. The pedal arm 15 may be formed with variousmaterials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene(PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide thermoplastic(PA)—known as nylon—and variations of nylon including PA6 and PA66,Polyphthalamide (PPA), polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene,polyurethane, polymethyl methacrylate, high density polyethylene, lowdensity polyethylene, polystyrene, PEEK, POM (Acetal/Delrin),polyethylene terephthalate, thermoplastic elastomer, polyetherimide,theremoplastic vulcanizate, polysulfone, and/or the like, andcombinations thereof. Additionally, additives may be added such as UVabsorbers, flame retardants, colorants, glass fibers, plasticizers,carbon fiber, aramid fiber, glass bead, PTFE, PFPE, TALC, MoS2(Molybdenum Disulfide), graphite, and/or the like. In other embodiments,the pedal arm 15 may be formed using additive manufacturing techniquesor other known techniques.

The ETC pedal assembly 10 further includes a spring carrier 78. Thespring carrier 78 is coupled to the pedal arm 15 and is received withinthe housing 12 by at least a distal end 83 received within the hubaperture 36 of the hub 16 of the pedal arm 15. The spring carrier 78includes a rear surface 88 a and an opposite front surface 88 b thatdefine a thickness. A spring receiving portion 80 is positioned withinthe front surface 88 b and an arm portion 82 extends from a proximateend 89 to the distal end 83 or tip. The arm portion 82 may extend fromand may be integrally formed with the spring receiving portion 80. Thedistal end 83 includes a distal exterior surface 91 a and an oppositedistal inner surface 91 b. In some embodiments, the distal inner surface91 b is angled from the front surface 88 b by theta θ¹ less than 180degrees. Further, in some embodiments, the distal exterior surface 91 ais angled from the rear surface 88 a by theta θ² less than 180 degrees.As such, the distal end 83 is angled with respect to the arm portion 82.Further, a portion of the distal end 83 or tip extends beyond the frontsurface 88 b of the spring carrier in the vertical direction (i.e., inthe +/− Z direction) to extend below the front surface 88 b.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-10 , a friction generating portion 84 thathas an upper surface 86 a and an opposite lower surface 86 b extendsfrom the rear surface 88 a of the arm portion 82 of the spring carrier78. In some embodiments, the rear surface 88 a of the arm portion 82includes a pair of receiving channels 95 that are configured to receivea pair of protrusions 97 extending from the lower surface 86 b of thefriction generating portion 84. As such, the friction generating portion84 may be in a snap fit type configuration with the spring carrier 78,or a one-shot injection molding. In other embodiments, the frictiongenerating portion 84 is coupled to the spring carrier 78 via fasteners,such as screws, bolts and nuts, epoxy, adhesive, and/or the like.

The friction generating portion 84 extends from the rear surface 88 a ofthe arm portion 82 between the spring receiving portion 80 and thedistal end 83 or tip. In some embodiments, the friction generatingportion 84 is arcuate in shape. In other embodiments, the frictiongenerating portion 84 is linear or curvilinear in shape.

The spring receiving portion 80 is depressed or recessed within thefront surface 88 b of the spring carrier 78. The spring receivingportion 80 includes a spring receiving surface 90 adapted to receive anopposite end of the outer spring 74 and the inner spring 76 than thatreceived by the spring receiving portion 70. The spring receivingsurface 90 includes a generally circular holding portion and a centralprotrusion 92 to keep the outer spring 74 and the inner spring 76 inplace.

The distal end 83 or tip of the spring carrier 78 is received within thehub aperture 36 of the hub portion 16 to engage with portions of the hubfriction generating member 38 within the hub aperture 36 of the hubportion 16 of the pedal arm 15 dependent on an upstroke or down stoke ofthe pedal arm 15, as discussed in greater detail herein. As such, thespring carrier 78 is supported by the distal end 83 or tip within thehub aperture 36 of the hub portion 16 and within the pocket portion 27positioned within the hub receiving cavity 26 of the housing 12.

That is, the upper surface 86 a of the friction generating portion 84abuts or is otherwise in contact with the lower surface 54 a of thecross member 52 of the friction generating member 38. As such, thespring carrier 78 causes the abutting surfaces of the upper surface 86 aof the friction generating portion 84 and the lower surface 54 a of thecross member 52 of the friction generating member 38 to generate afriction between them upon movement of the pedal arm 15.

In some embodiments, the spring carrier 78 may be formed with variousmaterials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene(PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide thermoplastic(PA)—known as nylon—and variations of nylon including PA6 and PA66,Polyphthalamide (PPA), polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene,polyurethane, polymethyl methacrylate, high density polyethylene, lowdensity polyethylene, polystyrene, PEEK, POM (Acetal/Delrin),polyethylene terephthalate, thermoplastic elastomer, polyetherimide,theremoplastic vulcanizate, polysulfone, and/or the like, andcombinations thereof. Additionally, additives may be added such as UVabsorbers, flame retardants, colorants, glass fibers, plasticizers,carbon fiber, aramid fiber, glass bead, PTFE, PFPE, TALC, MoS2(Molybdenum Disulfide), graphite, and/or the like. In other embodiments,the spring carrier 78 may be formed using additive manufacturingtechniques or other known techniques.

The friction generating portion 84 may be formed with the same materialas the spring carrier 78 or from a different material than the springcarrier. As a non-limiting example, both the friction generating portion84 and the spring carrier 78 may be formed with an acrylonitrilebutadiene styrene material. In another non-limiting example, the springcarrier 78 may be formed with an acrylonitrile butadiene styrenematerial and the friction generating portion 84 may be formed with nylonor a combination of different material such as polypropylene and nylon.Further, the friction generating portion 84 and the spring carrier 78may each share a common material and have different additionalmaterials. In a non-limiting example, the spring carrier 78 may beformed with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyethyleneterephthalate while the friction generating portion 84 may be formedwith acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and thermoplastic elastomer.

It should now be understood that the friction generating portion 84 ofthe spring carrier 78, the friction generating member 38 of the hubportion 16 and the friction generating surface 28 of the housing 12 mayeach be independently manipulated or changed to change the hysteresis.For example, the amount of material (i.e., the thickness) may be variedto independently change aspect to the various friction generatingsurfaces. Another example would be to vary the materials that each ofthe various friction generating surfaces are made from to change thefriction characteristics, which in turn change the hysteresis.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-10 , the outer spring 74 has an innerdiameter D1 that is larger than an outer diameter D2 of the inner spring76 such that the inner spring is received by the outer spring 74. Theouter and inner springs 74, 76, in the assembled state, are coaxiallyaligned. Each of the outer and inner springs 74, 76 extend between thespring receiving portion 70 of the inner surface 60 b of the pedal arm15 and the spring receiving portion 80 of the spring carrier 78.

When the pedal arm is depressed, the outer spring 74 and the innerspring 76 displace the spring carrier 78 such that a portion of thespring carrier 78 leverages against the housing 12 to load the pedal arm15 pivot as it rotates. As the outer spring 74 and the inner spring 76compress due to the rotation of the pedal arm 15, the spring carrier 78continues to transfer the load into the pivot of the pedal arm 15. Assuch, with the load applied, the friction generating portion 84 ispositioned against the exposed portion of the cross member 52 of thefriction generating member 38. As such, embodiments described hereindisclose of at least two independent friction generating surfaces tocreate a hysteresis proportional to the depression of the pedal arm 15.

In some embodiments, each of the outer spring 74 and the inner spring 76may be formed with a steel material. In other embodiments, each of theouter spring 74 and the inner spring 76 may be formed with stainlesssteel, wire, carbon steel, alloy steel, elgiloy, Monel®, copper, nickel,and/or the like.

A connector assembly 34 extends from the housing 12 through theconnector opening 39. The connector assembly 34 may include a pluralityof terminals 35, a circuit board 43, and a connector 37, and the like,to communicatively and/or electrically connect the pedal assembly 10 toother components of a vehicle such as an electronic control moduleand/or a powertrain controller. In some embodiments, the connectorassembly 34 is overmolded. The circuit board 43 may be a printed circuitboard and may also be included as part of the sensor assembly 94, asdiscussed in greater detail herein.

The sensor assembly 94 may include the circuit board 43, which mayinclude at least one receiver coil 96 and a transmitter coil 98, and acoupler 100. The coupler 100 may be mounted or attached to the hubportion 16 of the pedal arm 15 in the vicinity of and perpendicular tothe pivot axis. As such, the coupler 100 may be positioned adjacent tothe at least one receiver coil 96. In some embodiments, the coupler 100may include distinct lobes, 102, such as three lobes as illustrated inFIG. 8 . The coupler 100 may rotate or pivot upon movement of the hubportion 16 of the pedal arm 15. An outermost portion 104 of each lobe102 is positioned within the inner surface 56 b of the lobe 50 b of thefriction generating member 38.

The at least one receiver coil 96 and the transmitter coil 98 detect themovements of the coupler 100 and that data is transmitted to an ECUand/or powertrain controller communicatively coupled to the sensorassembly 94 via the connector 37 of the connector assembly 34. Thesensor assembly 94 may include overmould to encapsulate the electroniccomponents, and it may include solderless connections between PWA andterminal pins, such as compliant through-hole pins.

Now referring to FIGS. 4-5 , in operation, one end of the spring carrier78 is loaded by the outer and inner springs 74, 76 which acts againstthe pedal arm 15 and the other, opposite end, is supported within thehub aperture 36 of the pedal arm 15 and may be partially supported bythe housing 12 to press the upper surface 86 a of the frictiongenerating portion 84 of the arm portion 82 against the lower surface 54a of the cross member 52 of the friction generating member 38. As thepedal arm 15 moves, as indicated by arrow Al in FIG. 5 , the pedal arm15 pivots, and/or travels, the loads between spring carrier 78 and thepedal arm 15 and the loads between the pedal arm 15 and the frictiongenerating surface 28 of the housing 12 independently create friction.The friction is created by movement of the spring carrier 78 against thecross member 52 of the pedal arm 15 in the direction A3 as depicted inFIG. 5 , and movement of the hub portion 16 against the frictiongenerating surface 28 of the housing 12 in the direction A2, as depictedin FIG. 5 . This created friction resists the motion and creates themechanical hysteresis. Additionally, as the pedal arm 15 moves, pivots,and/or travels, the outer and inner springs 74, 76 increases in load,which in turn increases both the return force on the pedal arm 15directly and the magnitude of friction acting on the pedal arm 15.

Referring now to FIG. 11 which is a flow diagram that graphicallydepicts an illustrative method 1100 of installing the pedal arm assembly14 into the housing 12 is provided. Although the steps associated withthe blocks of FIG. 11 will be described as being separate tasks, inother embodiments, the blocks may be combined or omitted. Further, whilethe steps associated with the blocks of FIG. 11 will described as beingperformed in a particular order, in other embodiments, the steps may beperformed in a different order.

To install the pedal arm assembly 14 into the housing 12, at block 1105,the inner spring 76 is inserted into an inner diameter of the outerspring 74 to form a spring package. At block 1110, one end of the springpackage is inserted into the spring receiving portion 70 of the pedalarm 15. At block 1115, the other end of the spring package is insertedinto the spring receiving portion 80 of the spring carrier. The springcarrier 78 and the pedal arm 15 are inserted into the hub receivingcavity 26 of the housing 12, at block 1120. As such, the spring carrier78 and the pedal arm 15 are movably coupled to the housing 12.

It is noted that the terms “substantially” and “about” may be utilizedherein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may beattributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or otherrepresentation. These terms are also utilized herein to represent thedegree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a statedreference without resulting in a change in the basic function of thesubject matter at issue.

While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein,it should be understood that various other changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimedsubject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimedsubject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not beutilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appendedclaims cover all such changes and modifications that are within thescope of the claimed subject matter.

1. An electronic throttle control pedal assembly for a vehicle, theassembly comprising: a housing having a friction generating surface; apedal arm having a hub portion and a friction generating member, thefriction generating member having a lobe, the lobe positioned on a sidesurface of the hub portion, the pedal arm is pivotally connected to thehousing at the hub portion; a spring carrier coupled to the pedal armand received within the housing; and at least one spring positioned tobe in contact with the pedal arm and the spring carrier, wherein whenthe pedal arm is depressed, the at least one spring and the springcarrier leverages a load applied by the at least one spring by movementof the pedal arm to pivotally engage at least a portion of the lobe ofthe friction generating member against the friction generating surfaceof the housing thereby creating a hysteresis proportional to thedepression of the pedal arm.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein: thehub portion includes a pair of side surfaces, each of the pair of sidesurfaces are curvilinear shaped, the pair of curvilinear shaped sidesurfaces are separated by the hub aperture and connected by an uppersurface of the pedal arm
 3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein: thefriction generating member includes a second lobe spaced apart from thelobe and positioned on a respective side surface of the hub portion. 4.The assembly of claim 3, wherein each the lobe and the second lobe ofthe friction generating member each geometrically match the curvilinearshape of the pair of side surfaces of the hub portion.
 5. The assemblyof claim 3, wherein: the pedal arm further includes an exterior surfaceand an opposite inner surface; the at least one spring extending betweenan inner surface of the pedal arm and the spring carrier; and the hubaperture extends through an inner surface and an opposite exteriorsurface of the hub portion and a portion of the spring carrierpositioned within the hub aperture to engage with a portion of thefriction generating member positioned within the hub aperture when theload from the at least one spring is applied to the spring carrier. 6.The assembly of claim 5, wherein the spring carrier further comprises: aspring receiving portion; and an arm portion extending from andintegrally formed with the spring receiving portion, wherein the atleast one spring is received by the spring receiving portion.
 7. Theassembly of claim 6, wherein the at least one spring further comprises:an outer spring having an inner diameter and extending between the innersurface of the pedal arm and the spring receiving portion of the springcarrier; and an inner spring positioned within the inner diameter of theouter spring and extending between the inner surface of the pedal armand the spring receiving portion of the spring carrier.
 8. The assemblyof claim 6, wherein the friction generating portion is positioned on anupper surface of the arm portion.
 9. The assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising: a sensor assembly having: a coupler rotatably mounted to oneside of the hub portion; at least one receiver coil positioned adjacentto the coupler; and at least one transmitter coil, wherein movement ofthe coupler is detected by the at least one receiver coil.
 10. Theassembly of claim 1, wherein the pedal arm is formed from a multi-shotinjection molding.
 11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the frictiongenerating surface of the housing is arcuate in shape.
 12. The assemblyof claim 1, wherein the pedal arm is a universal connector for aplurality of lower pedal arms.
 13. A pedal assembly for a vehicle, theassembly comprising: a housing having a friction generating surface; anda pedal arm assembly having a pedal arm having an exterior surface andan opposite inner surface, the pedal arm further having: a hub portionand a friction generating member, the hub portion is curvilinear inshape, the friction generating member having a pair of spaced apartlobes, each of the pair of lobes positioned on a respective side surfaceof the hub portion, each of the pair of lobes of the friction surfacegeometrically match the curvilinear shape of the hub portion, the pedalarm is pivotally connected to the housing at the hub portion, a springcarrier coupled to the pedal arm and received within the housing, thespring carrier having a friction generating portion extending from arear surface; and at least one spring extending between the innersurface of the pedal arm and the spring carrier, wherein when the pedalarm is depressed, the at least one spring and the spring carrierleverages a load applied to the at least one spring by movement of thepedal arm to engage the friction generating portion against a portion ofeach of the pair of lobes of the friction generating member to pivotallyengage against the friction generating surface of the housing therebycreating a hysteresis proportional to the depression of the pedal arm.14. The pedal assembly of claim 13, wherein the pedal arm furthercomprises: a hub aperture extending through the inner surface and theexterior surface of the hub portion.
 15. The pedal assembly of claim 13,wherein the spring carrier further comprises: a spring receiving portionat a first end; and an arm portion extending from the spring receivingportion to a distal tip, the arm portion extends from and integrallyformed with the spring receiving portion, the arm portion having thefriction generating portion positioned on the rear surface.
 16. Thepedal assembly of claim 13, further comprising: an outer spring havingan inner diameter and extending between the inner surface of the pedalarm and spring receiving portion of the spring carrier; and an innerspring positioned within the inner diameter of the outer spring andextending between the inner surface of the pedal arm and the springreceiving portion of the spring carrier, wherein the outer spring andthe inner spring are each received by the spring receiving portion. 17.The pedal assembly of claim 13, further comprising: a sensor assemblyhaving: a coupler rotatably mounted to one side of the hub portion; atleast one receiver coil positioned adjacent to the coupler; and at leastone transmitter coil, wherein movement of the coupler is detected by theat least one receiver coil.
 18. The pedal assembly of claim 13, whereinthe friction generating surface of the housing is arcuate in shape. 19.The pedal assembly of claim 13, wherein the pedal arm is a universalconnector for a plurality of lower pedal arms.
 20. A method of a finalassembly of installing a pedal arm assembly into a housing, the methodcomprising: inserting an inner spring with an outer diameter into aninner diameter of an outer spring to form a spring package, the outerdiameter of the inner spring is smaller than the inner diameter of theouter spring; inserting one end of the spring package into a springreceiving portion of a pedal arm; inserting another end of the springpackage into a spring receiving portion of a spring carrier; andinserting the spring carrier and the pedal arm into a hub receivingcavity of the housing such that the pedal arm and the spring carrier arepivotally mounted to the housing.